TRS Plus

[tweetystwades]

It's a sad, sad day. I lost my TRS Plus ribbon. I worked so hard to keep that all these years, and I lost it for something stupid like not offering free returns.  Maybe I'll get it back, if more sellers drop it because too many returns.   

[albany_sellers]

Ill pile my inventory up and have a bonfire before I do free returns or bend over and grab my ankles at this point.

Iv'e done everything asked of me, I've went out of my way to give the best service possible, even to my own detriment, but what have I gotten? Throttled listings, my fee discount cut in half, listings that end up getting free shipping snuck into them, listings that eBay has decided to add best offers on,  defects for things that I was told by eBay to do that they promised I wouldn't get, non existant seller protection, buyers who scam me, then get refunded in full by eBay even when they are caught red handed, fee increases, site glitches and bugs galore, and every single update they decide to move the goal posts.

I just upgraded to a premium store, and I think i made a mistake doing so. I have not been here nowhere near as long as a lot of other people, this is something like year number 2 for me, and even I see a very drastic change for the worse after such a short time. I don't need to be a psychic to see what way the wind is blowing.

[aislynkat]

Why am I still seeing sellers who have the TRS+ logo, and yet they offer 30 day buyer pays returns, and they also show 20% restocking fees? 

Is ebay letting some go or have they not caught up yet? Confused... 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Just not caught up yet, especially with 30-day and "Good until canceled" listings.

[aquajoe07011]

Badges, eBay can keep their stinking badges.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqomZQMZQCQ

[ceara2002]

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@aquajoe07011 wrote:

Badges, eBay can keep their stinking badges.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqomZQMZQCQ

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[ymeagainlord]

Some waited for the TRS+ badge to fall off as listings ended.

Some like me, bit the bullet and just changed everything to 2 days handling.

[wamegun]

All of my listongs that have renewed or needed to be relisted lost my badge. Who definitely feel better after a search of one of my dominating categories. Out of 562 listings (I have 300 of those) only 3 sellers with a total of 3 listings offer Free Returns. I don't think this is going over like they wanted. I wonder when the next strong armed change is gonna happen and how we can rebel against it?

[where*you*crowin]

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@iart wrote:

Don't feel too bad. We opted into the free returns and our sales have fallen for the last few days.

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It has been almost a month since I started adding free returns.  Sales have been down over 50%, which at the pace they are on, I will lose TRS+ soon.  No point in offering free returns if I'm going to lose TRS, let alone TRS+.   I've already begun removing free returns. 

They say for every action there is a reaction.  Bet ebay didn't see that reaction coming. They just figured sellers would continue to jump through the loops instead of breaking the loops and saying NO MORE.

[marinermikes]

Im out also. I'm selling collectables and Walnut lumber. It cost almost as much for shipping to California as the price of the wood. Even if  buyer should want to return it I don't want it back. It would be cheaper in the long run to just refund and have them keep it.

One size does not fit all. It was a poorly thought up idea. There are other catagories like the ones I sell in that the free returns just doesn't fit period.

On top of that, all it takes is one vindictive buyer or competitor to ruin your business by buying your items and then demanding free returns for no reason.

I've jumped through the last EBay hoop that I will ever jump through even if it means closing down my account after fifteen years! Yep I'm with the rest of you. I'm actully going to go backwards. I will no longer have to worry about next day shipping. I can go away for a day or two with out worry or ending my listings.

The original liberal return master Sears thought free returns for any reason was a good idea years ago. Bring back your broken sears tools and we will replace them for any reason! Look what it got them. Store closings by the hundreds. 

[twnpopcards]

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@tweetystwades wrote:

It's a sad, sad day. I lost my TRS Plus ribbon. I worked so hard to keep that all these years, and I lost it for something stupid like not offering free returns.  Maybe I'll get it back, if more sellers drop it because too many returns.   

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You will never get it back unless you bow down and do what they want.  Ebay stated years ago that they never expected to have this many participants in the TRS+ listings and never expected to have to issue the amount of discounts they have.  Ebay has been tightening the screws ever since to get the number down, especially now that they are not showing sufficient growth % compared to other companies.  I am sure this reduction in discount fees is being included in their growth numbers  each quarter so if everybody lost the TRS+ badge on their listings Ebay really couldn't care less and would probably hold a celebration party.

But at some point Ebay is still going to need to come up with some type of sustainable growth program rather than constant quarterly games to boost income including all these big sales in the last quarter of the month that then reduce sales at the beginning of the next quarter that they then have to figure out how to recoup.

[sophiahsclass62]

Spoiler

Why is anyone in business if not for the bottom line. If a seller doesn't care about his/her bottom line you are in the wrong business. I do not think anyone could do what Ebay does for sellers & buyers any better or cheaper. If it doesn't work for you make adjustments & make it work

[marinermikes]

Correct. The problem is EBay threw the baby out with the bath water. Free returns was not the answer to the probem. It made growth impossible. As far as quarterly growth, that's how the bean counters think. They don't have a long term goal. Can't see past the end of the quarter to get the big picture.

Free returns. How generous they are with our money!  Not!

[kbcate]

Yes a sad day to have the TRS rating gone. Broke my back making sure all items went out the next day. Even packed items to take on vacation just in case the buyer who didn't pay on time decided to pay while I was away - Murphy's Law always prevailed. 

I am also going to change my handling time, but will more than likely ship the next day anyway as I am all about customer service, badge or no.

Just wondering, will I be able to change returns back to 14 days from 30 days or is 30 day return the minimum to get any kind of results in Search? 

[bad*kitty*vintage]

I also lost my TRS...I sell clothing and can not offer free returns...I had two customers in the past six months that filed claims that were untrue in order to get free forced return shipping.  I plan to change my handling time to three days....I've jumped through hoops to keep up with the TRS requirements, but not going to let it stress me out anymore.

[vintageflairjewelry]

Lost my TRS too. I am not commiting to Free 30 day returns. I have commited to 1 day handling and 30 day returns and did enjoy my 10% discount.  It seems they add something every year that we have to do to earn this badge.  I am done jumping through hoops. When my badge disappeared , I decided to allow myself some breathing room and went back to a 2 day handling time and 14 day returns. Thankfully I still have the same amount of sales. I will miss my 10% discount, but I won't miss someone telling me how to run my business.